So I have always had a problem with the Luke 16 1:13 about the UNJUST steward. First, those debts were the debts to his boss – not his. I understand the concept of “steward,” but he also had his master’s business as his core responsibility; he was doing that forgiving of debt to make sure that the people would “welcome” him into their homes when his boss fired him (read the reference for yourself at the end of this essay). It was a selfish motive. But then he gets commended by the boss.
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he
had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their
generation wiser than the children of light.
What the heck does that mean? The “forgiveness” was his to forgive.
I think the steward cheated. And I think his boss was a crook and liked that he was cheating.
The story started out with the boss hearing that the steward was wasting his goods. So he calls him in and ask for an accounting, and that he’s fired. The steward “couldn’t dig” or was ashamed to “beg,” so he cooks the books. He fooled the boss (note that the adjective “unjust” is used on the steward).
I understand the concept of not being able to serve two masters. But I’ve never been able to understand the meaning of this story — until now. Before I figured out my interpretation, I wrote to my priest friend, asking him for guidance.
My priest friend replied, “Tough Gospel today. It can be very confusing. Fortunately, I didn’t have to talk about it! We are splitting up our weekends and this weekend it was my turn for spending time w/ our Lord by enhancing one’s prayer life.”
Priests are busy guys, too, I guess.
But I thought about it more, and read about it more. Here’s what I figured out. See what you think.
Crooks Go to Hell
The steward’s boss – the rich man – was never identified as a good man or how he got his wealth (mammon). In fact, we only know the steward was “accused unto him (the rich man) that he (the steward) had wasted his goods.”
So the boss fires him. The steward, realizing he doesn’t have a lot of skill or is actually not that ambitious, does a selfish thing: he hatches up the scheme playing further with the wealth of the boss. Afterwards, when the boss hears what he did, he commends the steward for “doing wisely.”
What did the steward do? He forgave the debts of the people who owed the boss so that they would think he was a good guy and after the boss fired him, take him in. In other words, he wanted to look good. But in the act of “forgiveness,” he actually steals from the boss because it is not his to forgive.
The story rests on why the boss thought this was OK. And that answer is, the story can only make sense if the boss is a crook too. They are both dealing with riches–mammon. And in this case, unrighteousness mammon. If the boss liked his thinking it can only be they left God out of the equation and are dealing straight with mammon. While it might look good that the steward is “forgiving” debts, he doesn’t have that power: the boss does. And the boss was already angry that the steward was wasting his “goods.”
In the Gospel, Jesus takes over the narration at that point and says to everyone to make friends with “the mammon of unrighteousness” so that when you fail, “they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” In other words, when you become friends with the mammon of unrighteousness you will go to the everlasting habitations: hell.
It is like Jesus is saying “Go ahead. Be a friend to Mammon. Forget about God. Make my day.”
Irony in Luke
If you are faithful in small things you’ll be like that in large things. And if unjust in small things you’ll be unjust in large. This is really a story about moral character! The steward was a crook. Unjust. And the boss was too because he liked what the steward did very much. There is deep irony when Luke writes: “for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Young people think they know everything!
A key statement: If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? In other words, if you are unfaithful like the steward with unrighteousness mammon, who will trust you with real riches? And those real riches would be the Truth, of course. Jesus.
The steward was unfaithful to his boss both before he was fired and after he was fired. And the boss was pleased because they were both full of unrighteousness mammon: the wrong kind of wealth!
Hence the moral of the story: No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Take you pick.
Mammon is wealth regarded as an evil influence. The story makes perfect sense once you ralize that the boss, like the steward, are crooks. The currency they were dealing with was mammon…unrighteousness mammon at that.
Jesus was a smart guy.
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Reference from King James Version Luke 16 1:13:
16 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.